Wallpaper

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

Description

Specifies the wallpaper (desktop background) displayed on all users' desktops, and prevents users from changing the image or its presentation.

This entry stores the setting of the Wallpaper Name box in the Active Desktop Wallpaper Group Policy. Group Policy adds this entry to the registry when you enable the policy. If you disable the policy or set it to Not configured, Group Policy deletes this entry from the registry, and users can select their own wallpaper.

The value of this entry consists of the path and file name of the file that contains the wallpaper image. The path can be specified as a local path, such as C:\Winnt\Logo.bmp, or as a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path, such as \\Server\Share\Logo.bmp. The wallpaper you specify can be stored in a bitmap (*.bmp), JPEG (*.jpg), or HTML (*.htm, *.html) file.

If the value of this entry is blank or invalid, or if the specified file is not available when the user logs on, no wallpaper is displayed and users cannot specify alternate wallpaper.

If this entry does not appear in the registry, no wallpaper is displayed by default, but users can select the wallpaper of their choice.

Change method

To change the value of this entry, use Group Policy. This entry corresponds to the Active Desktop Wallpaper Group Policy (User Configuration\AdministrativeTemplates\Desktop\Active Desktop). Type the fully-qualified path and file name that stores the wallpaper image. You can type a local path, such as C:\Winnt\Logo.bmp or a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path, such as \\Server\Share\Logo.bmp.

Note

The Active Desktop Wallpaper policy also lets you determine whether the image is tiled, centered, or stretched. This specification is stored in the value of the WallpaperStyle entry.

This entry requires that Active Desktop be enabled. By default, Active Desktop is disabled. To enable it, use the Enable Active Desktop policy (User Configuration\AdministrativeTemplates\Desktop\Active Desktop).

This entry takes precedence over a user setting. When this entry appears in the registry, a policy is in effect and the system ignores the value of the Wallpaper entry in the Control Panel\Desktop subkey.

Tip

For detailed information about particular Group Policy settings, see the Windows 2000 Resource Kit Group Policy Reference.

For general information about Group Policy, see Windows 2000 Server Help or Windows 2000 Professional Help.

To see a table associating policies with their corresponding registry entries, see the Group Policy Registry Table .

Related Entries

WallpaperStyle

NoHTMLWallPaper

NoChangingWallPaper